Any peace talks between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) are likely to fail if Turkey insists on dismantling Syrian Kurdish self-administration, the commander in chief of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said in an exclusive interview with the Al-Monitor news website.
The PKK, which has waged an on-off insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies.
In 2011 President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gave his blessing to several backchannel peace efforts in a bid to resolve the so-called Kurdish issue, but the fragile truce collapsed in 2015 in a fresh round of violence.
Since then Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with its ally, the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), has kept up military pressure on the Kurdish rebels.
On Tuesday the MHP’s leader created shockwaves by offering an olive branch to jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, suggesting he come to parliament to renounce terror and dissolve his movement.
A day later, Öcalan — who has been held on a Turkish prison island since 1999 — received his first family visit since 2020.
His nephew, Ömer Öcalan, a lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), confirmed the visit on X, saying the family had last seen him on March 3, 2020.
DEM Party officials reportedly suggest Öcalan may tell the PKK to lay down its arms, as he did in a letter in 2013.
Speaking to Al Monitor’s Amberin Zaman, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi said that all peace efforts between Ankara and the PKK would fail if Turkey continued to call for the end of Syrian Kurdish autonomy. He warned that abolishing the status of autonomous administration would result in failure and emphasized that a peaceful solution to the Turkish Kurdish issue would have far-reaching, positive effects on the Kurds in Syria and the region.
Turkey indiscriminately and unjustifiably bombards our areas, targeting civilian, service, and health centers. This is a war crime.
We have repeatedly shown our readiness for dialogue. Meanwhile, we affirm that our forces are ready to defend our people and land.— Mazloum Abdî مظلوم عبدي (@MazloumAbdi) October 23, 2024
“Turkey’s Kurdish problem should be solved primarily within Turkey’s borders. We wholeheartedly support a peaceful resolution of the Kurdish problem in Turkey,” Abdi said.
He added that an intra-Turkish peace would pave the way for better relations between the SDF and Ankara and possibly facilitate a future agreement between the SDF and the Syrian government.
Speaking from northeastern Syria, Abdi rejected Turkey’s accusations that his administration was involved in the October 23 attack by PKK militants on a Turkish state defense complex that killed five people.
He claimed Turkey’s recent airstrikes in northeastern Syria were instead aimed at undermining the Kurdish-led autonomous administration his forces have established.
The Turkish government has launched a series of airstrikes and drone attacks on key infrastructure in northeastern Syria, including bakeries, oil wells and grain silos, allegedly in retaliation for the recent PKK attack.
Turkish authorities accuse the SDF of acting as a proxy for the PKK, which Ankara designates as a terrorist group. They are now urging the SDF to disband its military and political structure in Syria, which is a key part of any peace negotiations with the PKK.
Abdi explained that Turkey’s real goal is to destroy the Kurdish-led system of government in northeastern Syria, known locally as Rojava, which the SDF has administered since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.
“The Turkish assault has entered its fifth day. At least 17 people have died so far. Two of them were our fighters; the rest are civilians. More than 50 people have been wounded,” Abdi told Al Monitor, adding that nine of the wounded were SDF members.
He said the attacks included artillery shelling and airstrikes by F-16 fighter jets and drones targeting infrastructure vital to the daily lives of Kurdish civilians in Rojava. Abdi argued that the attacks amount to “terrorizing” the local population, leading to displacement, death and the destruction of basic amenities.
Abdi said that while Turkish officials had not contacted the SDF directly about the ongoing airstrikes, the SDF had communicated indirectly through intermediaries, including US representatives, to demand an end to Turkish aggression.
Abdi argued that despite Turkey’s claims to be fighting a national security threat, the attacks have instead exacerbated local economic crises and weakened efforts against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as many displaced Syrians who are out of work are more vulnerable to recruitment by jihadist groups.
“Our coalition partners are failing us. They are not applying the requisite pressure to curb Turkey’s actions. We want this escalation to stop,” Al Monitor quoted Abdi as saying.
He emphasized that the ongoing Turkish attacks jeopardize both the stability of the Kurdish-led administration and the joint efforts of the SDF and the US to contain the resurgence of ISIL in Syria.
Abdi nevertheless said he remains hopeful that Western allies will pressure Turkey to halt its attacks.
He added that the loss of revenue from Turkish attacks last year had already affected the government’s ability to support the region’s residents.
Abdi also criticized Russia and the Syrian regime for their minimal intervention.
“The Russians are not doing enough, either. As for the regime, they are doing nothing at all,” he told Al Monitor.
He said the Syrian government’s reluctance to respond to the attacks, even when they take place within Syrian borders, reflects its disinterest in regional stability. He claimed that Damascus and Ankara appear to be more interested in restricting Kurdish autonomy than in establishing a comprehensive peace.
Amid speculation that Turkish-backed peace talks with the PKK could lead to a broader Kurdish settlement, Abdi emphasized that Ankara’s terms would have to respect the self-governing status of Syrian Kurds for the talks to succeed. He also rejected the notion that imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has recently re-established contact with his family members, would instruct Syrian Kurds to dissolve their autonomous administration in deference to Turkey’s demands.
“Ocalan would never make any such demand of us,” Abdi was quoted as saying. He said the Syrian Kurds would turn to Damascus and not Ankara to solve Kurdish problems in Syria.
Turkey’s ongoing airstrikes, combined with its historic distrust of Kurdish self-rule, reflect broader, ongoing Turkish policies aimed at curtailing Kurdish autonomy across the region. While Abdi signaled his willingness to work towards improving relations with Ankara, he was firm that the SDF would not dissolve its administration, regardless of Turkish demands.